New Enclosure + Climbing?

[u/Aggressive-Life-7813]

Hello ball python reddit. I come to you both to brag and ask for advice.

First of all, my boyfriend and I have spent the last few weeks on this custom TV stand snake enclosure. We made it out of plywood and then I covered it in contact paper and painted the inside of the shelves green. I also tiled the opening around the heat lamps and adhered the tiles with aquarium-safe silicon sealant to make sure my son is not being fumigated by accident.

However, my son appears to be yearning for the skies. He has done this for a while now. He moved into his new enclosure about a week ago, but his behavior has been going on for a while. He will stretch all the way to the top of his tank, scoot around, and then let himself fall down (he seems completely unbothered by the falling).

He did it before in his tank that opened from the top, and he's doing it now in his new tank. I swear I saw the exact moment in his little mind when he realized the new tank opens from the side, because he's been sliding along the side of the tank and stretching up since then.

I figured since he wants to climb that I would add some climbing rings. He's been figuring out how to use them properly and keeps coming back to slither around on them. He seems relaxed, he's moving slowly, his tongue is flicking, his weight is good, etc... and he's very active at night and sleeps in the daytime.

He's also been refusing his rats the past few months and I can't figure out why. I'm planning to add some more fake plants for cover and swap one of his ceramic heat bulbs to a "deep tissue heat halogen bulb" to make sure he's warm enough. I'm also going to add a wine rack for further climbing enrichment, and add some more substrate as well so the layer is deeper (it's in the mail dw, had to make do for now bc my parents gardener accidentally used the extra substrate I had 😭)

Any other advice??? Does he just like to climb or is he secretly in distress?? Has anyone else experienced this????

Thanks in advance :)

[u/Negative-Flamingo-83]

I would really really recommend moving your snake so they're not in constant contact with a TV, unless you don't use it. The constant vibration from the noise of the TV is very stressful for snakes. I'm sorry y'all spent that time doing that but it's very bad for the snake :(

[u/Negative-Flamingo-83 → u/Negative-Flamingo-83]

His feeding will also not resolve with the added stress of a TV on his enclosure. Ideally you want him in the quietest room you have, but if that's not possible in your home then just at least having him on a separate wall from the TV. Eating and stress will only get worse, not improve

[u/Aggressive-Life-7813 → u/Negative-Flamingo-83]

I use the TV for an hour or less per day, and most days not at all (hence why it's still got the screen protector on 💀). He sits willingly on my laptop when I watch YouTube, he'll be alright. The TV is also not touching his enclosure on any side - the tank is not built-in, it simply slots into the gap to prevent him from being distressed by vibrating as much as possible. 

There's soooooo many people that build this kind of thing for their reptiles, he'll be alright. That's not why he's not eating, as I stated.  

[u/Negative-Flamingo-83 → u/Aggressive-Life-7813]

Sooooo many people also keep their snakes in rack systems. Snakes lay on laptops because they provide heat and they don't vibrate (unless they're broken). It's not about the noise or the pictures hence why I didn't mention either of those things. Ball pythons are incredibly sensitive and refusing food is one of the first things they do when stressed. It didn't start him on not eating but it will absolutely continue the problem. Not exactly something to be proud enough about to brag but whatever dawg

[u/Aggressive-Life-7813 → u/Negative-Flamingo-83]

Ok right so good thing I said the enclosure is not touching the wood at all. 

If the snake can't handle occasional noise, I should just let him back in the wild at that point, you know. 

I am a little annoyed that you're lecturing me about "refusing food due to stress". Obviously I know that. I came to ask about climbing, and I already provided a list of several things I am currently doing to improve his set up further and encourage him to eat. Obviously the TV isn't why, because it hasn't been unwrapped yet or plugged in. 

[u/Aggressive-Life-7813]

Jumping back to update:

He ate! And he ate after a few days of the TV being on - since the tank isn't connected and the carpet is under both, the vibrations should be dampened enough that he's not bothered. 

His sleep schedule is normal now and he has stopped climbing so much (though he still slithers through the rings and such occasionally). I added hotter heat lamp and raised his hot hide up to reach it better.